Treasure In My Backyard

The treasure I'm referring to isn't real treasure and it's not really in my backyard. I'm referring to Lake Mineral Wells State Park that is about 6 miles from me. This is a great place to do all sorts of outdoor activities. My favorite being riding horses! The State Park has about 8 miles of equestrian trails! I absolutely LOVE IT! For people like me who don't own their own land or don't own much, the State Park is a nice change of pace. Even with the $5 entry fee (which is for all day) is well worth what you get! There is about 30 acres where I keep my horse that I ride very regularly but it gets old after a while riding the same place all the time. The State Park adds a lot of variety. I've even taken the dogs on occasion and walked the hiking/biking/equestrian trails. There is rock climbing, fishing, camping, paddle boats. There are even special events for kids teaching them about nature.

My rig with the horses. Yes, I know there are two horses and only one of me! I have a system when I don't have anyone to ride with me. I ride one and lead the other then switch. I am looking forward to when my Lil' Peanut is big enough to ride along unassisted! The big bay is my horse Clyde and the other horse belongs to the people who own the property where I keep my horse. At the end of the parking lot is the where the trail begins.

The State Park is just beautiful this time of year! Wildflowers are everywhere, its green and foliage covers the trails several places making for a nice canopy of shade. I took time out from my ride every so often to take pictures. I want to go back with my big camera. I was using my compact digital on the ride (less expensive to replace if it gets damaged!)

A picture of some of the trail. These yellow flowers are EVERYWHERE!

Isn't this a beauty?

Last week, my son-in-law came with me. He's enjoying the scenery. It was his first time to ride out here.

And Clyde is very pokey. He walks very slowly and wants to trot to catch up when all he would have to do is walk faster! Silly horse!

Here we are going through the low water crossing.

I just love these trails! I could stay out here for days....but alas....I must go home. Until next time...Happy Trails to you!

My Favorite Season of the Year

Nothing says Spring in Texas like our beloved Blue Bonnets! They are in full bloom and after our severe drought God graciously poured out His rain on our thirsty landscape over the winter providing us with a bumper crop of wildflowers! I love the wildflowers even the ones that are weeds! They are all beautiful! Just seeing all the color covering the ground makes me smile from ear to ear and I can't keep from taking pictures! As many sunset pictures as I have, I probably have that many wildflower shots! This year I had an extra treat as I got to photograph not only these beautiful plants but my adorable granddaughters! They just made the pictures "perfect" for me! I wanted to be sure to get pictures of both girls together while Remi was visiting. She went home today.  I discovered it is a real challenge to photograph this age by yourself! You have to be quick and be happy with what you get!



 Aren't they just the cutest thing?!  I had the hardest time getting Remi to smile. She wasn't too thrilled about walking through the grass to sit in the Blue Bonnets. I provided them with my camera bag to sit on which seemed to help.

 They also wanted me to take a picture with them. My battery had died in my remote to trigger the camera so had to set it on self-timer. Oh, well at least we have a picture of us all!

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 I took the girls to another location I had spotted with my other favorite wildflower, the "Indian Paintbrush". We had to walk a little farther to get to these. Bless their hearts...they both had sandals and shorts on while I had on boots and jeans. I'm sure the grass and weeds were scratchy and itchy. At one point I was trying to carry both of them, my camera and tripod! What a sight we must have been! It was worth it though!

 I finally get a smile out of Remi. We said "Ice Cream"!

 I think Kennedy is going to be my little "tomboy". It doesn't bother her in the least bit to get dirty or go exploring. Her girliness does come through every once in a while...especially if bugs are involved!

We had fun. Hope you enjoyed it too!

I was on my way to a card class the other night. That field of yellow flowers I wrote about last blog had these to young steers in it. They seemed hungry for attention as they came right up to me when I walked to the fence mooing at me! I thought they made a nice addition to the photo!

Have a good one!

Time for a Change

I have been wrestling for months maybe even a couple of years now about my blogging. I love to blog but now that I help with the care of my granddaughter (who is 2) I find that I can't sit at the computer for long...usually not at all when she's here. I have another blog site which is where I originally started but this one seems so much more "user friendly" and I know many people who already blog here. Just makes sense that it might be time to move. I am following several blogs and realized I really need to update mine. I did finally put up a more current profile pic but its time to change that again too!

 My daughter is getting married in 17 days! Egads! She had a bridal shoot last Friday that required my help as she wanted to use our horse. It rained 2.5 inches last Monday and everything was still soggy. I was hoping I didn't have any trouble getting the trailer out of the pasture. I got the trailer out of the pasture but got stuck trying to put it back! Had to unhook it where it was and go back a few days later to park it properly.  I waited until Friday to bath the horse because if I didn't he would promptly roll in the mud!

Before and after bathing.

 I had been trying to groom him every day as he is shedding his winter coat so there is lots of loose hair to brush out. I used clippers on the long scraggly hairs on his face. He's a good looking horse for 22! He's the last of the original three we bought 17 years ago. He stands 15H and weighs probably about 1500 pounds! He's stout!

Went shopping Tuesday for an outfit for the wedding. I DID NOT want to wear a dress. I thought I was going to have to until I finally found something I thought would work at Dillards.

Made a card the other night for a friend having a birthday. I used sketch#66  from Operation Write Home and some scrap Basic Grey papers from their Valentine collection last year. Turned out cute I think.

Finishing up a Beth Moore study at church "James - Mercy Triumphs". This study is on the book of James and Beth's newest. It is very good and I highly recommend it. Just a word of caution. If you're not ready to be confronted to change don't take it.

Another lady from my church and I have been asked by our pastor to consider leading a "single" women's group on Wednesday night after this class. This would include unmarried, divorced, widowed or women whose husbands are not spiritually active what I am terming "spiritually single". There seems to be a great need for ministry to this group. We will hold an informational meeting on April 18th to see how to best minister to them. I am looking at some possible studies to do with this group that are not DVD driven. I will know more once we meet with these ladies how best to proceed.

My other granddaughter Remington lives in Arkansas. She is here this week for a visit. Keannon and Vanessa had a meeting with our pastor Sunday evening and they asked if I would like to keep the girls. Of course I said "YES!". This is the first time I had both of them for any length of time. We had so much fun. We played with big rubber balls that I had bought them, blew bubbles, played with pinwheels and when it got too dark to be outside we colored and put stickers on paper. Needless to say, I was one pooped gal by the time they went home but I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Went riding with my future SIL. He expressed an interest in riding with me every time he comes home from the job. He is working 2 weeks at a time away from home then is home a week. When he is home, he picks up Remington (Remi). I am excited to have someone to ride with me! I enjoy riding alone but its nice for a change.

 The wildflowers are sprouting up everywhere! Bluebonnets are my favorite and our State's flower. Indian paintbrushes are my next favorite. Lots of weeds have beautiful blooms too! Such beautiful colors scattered across grassy land makes me smile. God is such an amazing artist!

 I was on my way to shop for a wedding outfit when I saw these beauties! Bluebonnets (above)...if you look close you can see the edge of the field where the yellow flowers are. This field was just beautiful and covered in these yellow flowers.

 I think these are blooms to some weeds and not really flowers but I don't know that for sure.

 Bluebonnets with some albino mixed in. Not sure how common that is. I've not seen them very often.

 A little Indian Paintbrush (orange/red flower) mixed in this batch by the side of the road.

 A close up of the albino Bluebonnet

 Bees love the Bluebonnet's nectar

 Found a patch of Indian Paintbrushes. I set my camera up on a tripod for this one. I am hoping to get pics of my granddaughters out here soon.

 Aren't they beautiful?! I am such a sucker for wildflowers! I can't seem to quit taking pictures of them!




 That about wraps it up. Have a good one!